Those who wish me silent six feet under may be disappointed to hear that my blood test came back last week looking pretty good. Nine months following cancer surgery at the Mayo Clinic my …

Cherokee County officials devised a solar power and battery storage ordinance that prepares for 1990. Too bad it is 2026 and the locals put up a half-baked and pint-size response to a request by the …

Hardly a week goes by that we don’t get a press release from our United States Senators, Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, hoopin’ and hollerin’ about waste, fraud and abuse in various government …

After the Soviet Union fell in 1991, a dad asked a local elementary school why the classroom maps for that part of the world still said “U.S.S.R.” The way he told it, the classroom teacher gave …

The Iowa Supreme Court typically opens its rulings on the state’s public-records and open-meetings laws by reciting that the cases start with a “presumption of openness.”  But a new …

In this 11th article it is my hope that by sharing these stories, we can all get to know our community a little better. I feel thankful to have met so many amazing people in the Storm Lake area who …

Last week I focused my column on my dreams for American foreign policy. This week I embarked on Chapter Two, this time for our government’s domestic policy. I quickly discovered this focus is …

In America’s 250 year history, only five wars were formally declared by congress as required by Article I of the U.S. Constitution. They and the respective president are the War of 1812 (James …

Democrat, Republican, Independent or other. When voting, however, and regardless of party affiliation, are politics and common sense mutually exclusive? Yes or no. Not really certain? As a means to …

An elderly man from Alta died after a vehicle hit him while he was walking in the Walmart parking lot. The driver was Latino. No charges had been filed; the incident was under investigation. …

Sad news for us old gray Panthers that St. Mary’s will throw in the towel and participate on the public school teams in any sport, Tornadoes now. Our Uncle John Murray was the coach back in the …

We were bummed last week by the announcement that St. Mary’s High School is ending its athletic program after a century of competition. Beginning this fall the former Panthers will compete as …

Pete Hegseth is trying to diminish the contributions of women in the military, and that’s putting it delicately. The ACLU was more blunt when it said, on one of their webpages, that Hegseth wants …

Novelist Charles Dickens poked his quill pen at government bureaucracy 175 years ago with his accounts about a fictionalized department he called the "Circumlocution Office.”  …

Daydreaming is a universal pastime. What would I do if I won the lottery? What far-off places would I visit? Is this the year the Hawkeyes win the NCAA football playoffs, and the St. Louis Cardinals …

Nearly 30 years ago I began a business relationship with China. I never imagined those years would sharpen my appreciation for the greatness of America and help me understand how our nation became …

With the 2026 election approaching, Governor Reynolds and Attorney General Bird have unveiled a new priority: cracking down on Medicaid fraud. That comes as a big surprise to those of us who know the …

Journalism has many traditions. One of the oldest is adding “-30-” after the last paragraph of a just-completed story to alert the editor of “the end.” Old-timers say it was adopted from the …

As rural populations age and decrease, providing health care requires unique solutions to attract health care workforce and ensure a stable business model. We are not only focusing on helping …

Rob Sand spent a lot more time talking open primaries and ranked-choice voting than he did water pollution or cancer during a packed town hall event in Storm Lake last week. Who needs political …